


Furrows

by grayorca, YearwalktheWorld



Series: Skynet: 900 [11]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Wings, Drama, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-23 17:51:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18155099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grayorca/pseuds/grayorca, https://archiveofourown.org/users/YearwalktheWorld/pseuds/YearwalktheWorld
Summary: Wings AU. Horizons are supposed to be broad, right?





	Furrows

**Author's Note:**

> Open-ended drabble prompt is open-ended.
> 
> What we don’t have in romance we make up for in wholesomeness.

The only windows in the living room faced the fire escape, which in turn faced the Downtown skyline of Detroit. In terms of affording him adequate privacy, this was the ideal arrangement. It meant he could keep his clothes out on the bed while showering, and then trek across the living room with little to no concern. This morning was going well enough, Gavin even thought to multitask. Once dried off, he cinched the towel around his waist and grabbed for his toothbrush.

He may be a chronic drinker of coffee and a smoker, but that was no reason to neglect one’s teeth.

Then Noah just had to go and pull another ninja move. Unannounced arrivals by him were the worst kind.

Because, like some freaky winged ghost, there he was - just standing idle outside the glass.

Narrowing his eyes, Gavin almost startled backwards, but forced himself to remain completely still, absentmindedly continuing to brush his teeth. After a moment he pulled it out and pointed it at the android accusingly, talking around the toothpaste in his mouth.

“You - fuckin’ - _creep_ , waiting out there. Can't even give me five minutes?”

Despite how the glass must have muffled his voice, Noah heard it clearly enough. Without pause he reached up to slide the pane over a few inches, enough to be heard.

“I would’ve tried the door, Detective. But there’s a unit on your floor that is being fumigated for roaches today. The escape I normally enter through is blocked.”

Oh, how inconvenient.

Not like Bird Boy couldn’t just go to ground level and use an elevator.

“So instead of breakin’ in, you get to wait out there. Guess that counts as improvement over last time.” Creeping a bit forward, Gavin rolled his eyes at Noah, toothbrush still out in front of him (his other hand holding the towel secure). “I ain't even gonna ask just what the fuck you're here for, not until I'm actually dressed.”

“By all means. Don’t let me keep you.” Eyes never straying from his face, the android primly turned around. Pressed against jacket, his wings resembled two white scythes. “The witness isn’t going anywhere.”

“Witness, ugh… fuckin’ work.” Of course, because what else would the android be here for? Gavin hadn't taken another day off (called in or otherwise) since his prior incident, and Noah hadn't had another autopilot episode either.

Instead of anymore questioning, he only padded away, back to his bedroom - after depositing the toothbrush and spitting toothpaste out into the sink - to get changed as quickly as possible.

Which, didn't take him too long, at least not long enough that the android would get antsy enough to let himself in just yet. Glaring at Noah yet again as he re-entered, Gavin gestured for him to come inside. “Okay, okay. Tell me what's goin’ on, then.”

Pushing the glass the rest of the way open, Noah ducked to lean through, but did not step over the windowsill. “Your witness is due to make their appearance in court today, at 2 PM. Our names are up for the overseeing shift on their apartment, three hours before and after.”

Shit. Well, that explained why he was here bright and early at almost 9 AM - _five_ hours in advance. That was above and beyond punctual.

“You're here bright and early, then, aren't you?” Stretching his arms, Gavin trailed closer to his couch, flopping down on it when he could, before turning his head to look back out at him. Just what was the reasoning for such an early hour? Not that it particularly bothered him - he had been up just as well. Sleep came easy last night. “Dude. Come in, not like you haven't done it before.”

With and without permission.

A flicker of something that might have been reluctance passed before Noah stepped through, somehow managing to make the act look smooth. How he routinely went about his days without getting his feathers hung up on anything was nothing short of a marvel. Some androids never could seem to figure out the art of it.

Crouched over his food bowl, Colby looked up from his morning chow long enough to lick a whisker, then resumed eating.

That passed for a greeting on his part.

“I don’t mean to impose.” Leaving his reasoning at that, Noah feigned interest in smoothing out one ruffled vane of feather before straightening the rest of the way up. “There was… nothing else in need of my attention at the station.”

“Uh… yeah, that's bullshit. You always got a million things you go on and on about that you gotta do, no way you magically finished those up.” Raising an eyebrow at him, Gavin scoffed at the reasoning, putting his feet up on the coffee table. Since when did Noah _not_ have something to do? The guy didn’t tolerate restlessness none too well. “So, spill it. What's goin’ on?”

Frowning, Noah only scoffed in reply - a petty imitative thing he did when his feathers were starting to get ruffled. “As I said, nothing pressing. I only wanted to - get away for a time. And I have no valid excuses for returning to Belle-Isle.”

“Get away for a time? From what? Or should I say… from who?” It wasn't all too hard to connect dots there. Gavin was a fucking detective, of all things.

The frown soured. Wings flicking out only to cap them over his shoulders, Noah glanced aside. He didn’t look embarrassed. He looked disappointed in himself for not managing to avoid the subject any longer than two minutes. “Is it that obvious?”

“To me, yeah. You may have forgotten, but I do actually fuckin’ know about what went down, remember? Ain't hard to connect those dots, since I'm, you know… law enforcement.”

The self-congratulatory tone seemed to irk him. Noah’s eyes turned that baleful, flat blue he wore so effortlessly. He crossed his arms. “I didn’t forget. And I didn’t think you had, either. But… since then, I seem to be having difficulty with being in proximity anywhere close to Vernon. He apologized, but I… I can’t tell him what I’ve told you.”

Right, Vernon was arguably the scariest-looking RK900 ever built. The guy didn’t exactly scream _personable_.

Noah’s wings twitched again, down to the black outer tips. “I shouldn’t be letting so base a reason stop me from accepting the apology, and I am.”

“Fuckin’ stop it. You tell who you wanna tell, don't tell who you don't, who gives a shit. Vern isn't exactly the first guy I would go tellin’ all my troubles too either.” Thinking on him, Gavin grimaced at the idea of ever revealing anything to such an android. “I wouldn't wanna hang around him either. Can't even believe people do.”

Declining any urge to explain their overall lack of choice in the matter, Noah’s fingers kneaded at his white sleeve in thought. “Again, I don’t mean to be a bother.”

No. Try as he might, he just wasn’t getting along with his so-called peers. He saw an excuse to get out of there, beyond the needs mandated by a case, and here they were.

“It's fine, dude, calm down. Stop fuckin’ fretting about being a bother - you keep Colby entertained, that's enough for me.”

And if by entertained he meant generally ignored except occasionally providing a loose feather to chew on - then yes, Noah was a big help in that regard.

Said cat flicked his tail, back turned as he continued to eat. Stuffing his face remained more important than acknowledging either of them.

Realizing he was veering into one of his low-key panic spells, Noah scoffed, more softly than before. “If you say so, Detective.”

“I do. Now, relax, we got time to kill.”

Insert zany teach-android-how-to-kill-time montage here.

Or Gavin quietly wished a montage would ensue. Glossing over the process would have made for less work on his part. Like watching a movie, one could glean all the important bits of information from a series of highlights.

Noah, in the other hand, had to be spoon-fed through the process of selecting a movie to watch.

Two hours later, Gavin was fit to berate him for it.

——-

 _“I’m not fuckin’ joking, N, of all the things I’ve ever sat through, that’s up there with among the most ball-bustingly_ boring _flicks ever.”_

Hearing the disdain plainly enough, Noah didn’t bother to favor the video screen between his fingers with any deadpan looks (it was only enabled out of courtesy, besides). Gavin could imagine it for himself. Perched in the alcove of a window, some five stories above the ground, he was enjoying some kind of privacy while on protection detail.

He couldn’t take his eyes off the street all the same.

“You’d rather I picked _The Breakfast Club_ after all, then?”

Parked half a block away, around the corner from the witness’ apartment complex, he could see the nose of Reed’s police cruiser jutting out from behind a hedge.

“ _Fuckin’ maybe! At least then I wouldn't have just watched animals putz around in a forest for an hour or somethin’. Ugh, you know how to pick them… I'm definitely pickin’ next time.”_

“Very well.” Letting nothing but the wind and the sound of traffic reign for a moment, Noah braced a shoulder against the stonework, crossing one leg over the other. “There was really nothing you enjoyed about it?”

_“Uh, I mean - I like the animals, because they're fuckin’ cats and dogs, but the plot, yeah - no, thanks. I'm guessin’ you pretty much were a fan, though, eh?”_

The movie did as it was said to - it ate up ninety minutes of downtime before they were expected to report to Greektown. In that sense, Noah supposed he was grateful for the distraction from dwelling on his lackluster working relationships back at Central Station.

 _Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey_ , released in 1993, was forty-six years old, a remake of a film from 1963. Was it too old and obsolete to consider oneself a fan of?

Sparing the holoscreen a sideways look, Noah shrugged with the one shoulder his partner could see. “The setting was… distinct. The Sierra Nevadas have appeared in several movies. I recognized some shots as stock footage recycled from other titles.”

“‘ _Course you're another nature freak.”_ Gavin rolled his eyes, showing just what he got out of those words, apparently. “ _Yeah, well, don't go flying out west just yet, it ain't like that anymore.”_

No, he didn’t think so. Not that urban sprawl had covered absolutely every square inch of natural Earth. But the planet wasn’t half as green and blue as it once was.

“Have you ever been there?” Idle as the question seemed, Noah knew what it was to make easy small talk. “That is, have you ever travelled, taken a - vacation?”

 _“Eh, nah. Ain't ever really been out of Detroit, I guess. Not like anyone was takin’ me as a kid.”_ Gavin shrugged, not looking particularly bothered at his own admission of just staying put. “ _Pfft, closest I ever got to vacation was when I used to run away from a foster home.”_

Detroit was a big place, especially when one included all the surrounding settlements that were colloquially known as the same. But that didn’t mean it was all there was in this world, period.

“Not once?” Noah emphasized, mindful to keep his tone neutral. This was ground to be trod very cautiously. “Not even since you became a police officer? Made detective?”

 _“Uh, no. Why would I? Where would I even go?”_ Gavin's brow furrowed, as if genuinely confused about just where he would end up if he were to take a vacation. _“I don't exactly have aspirations to fuckin’ travel the world. There's no need, my life is here.”_

No need, obviously. The man was a pariah unto himself, never mind the department. But didn’t that mean he was inherently all the more free to do as he pleased? He didn’t keep any close ties, save a couple exceptions that Noah was (sometimes) happy to count himself among.

“Do you… think you might want to, someday?”

Reed hated introspection to a tee. But prodding him with such questions always got interesting results.

_“What is this, twenty fuckin’ questions? Probably not. Sorry I'm only a boring-ass human, Noah, but I wouldn't even have the first clue of where is a good place to travel to.”_

“Hmph. Well, when I… think of one, I’ll be sure to invite you.”

 _“Ha! Now that'd be a fuckin’ adventure, two of us on a road trip or some shit._ ” Gavin laughed, raising his eyebrows all the same. _“Long as it's in the country, fuckin’ sure.”_

Marginally successful, that joke. And however unrealistic it was, in actuality, the imagined scenarios it called forth weren’t entirely unpleasant to consider. Even the RK800s had been to the historic-landmark aquarium on the north end of Belle-Isle. That was more travel than any of their three ‘successors’ has yet enjoyed.

“Noted.”

Even if the idea was never acted on, it was a pleasant thought.

——-

Road trip with an android, much less one of Noah’s pedigree.

Now that was funny. Maybe he meant it. Maybe it was only for the sake of conversation. But either way, Gavin wasn’t about to stick a pin in it and hold his breath. There was still a little something like the real world in the way.

_“Then… hypothetically speaking, would you prefer Yellowstone or Denali?”_

Shit, what was this all of a sudden, planning a honeymoon?

Noah could wax serious all he wanted. There were times, like now, in which he sounded just like the five-month-old he was.

“Uh… shit, Noah…” Trailing off, Gavin almost winced. Much as he wanted to tell him this was ridiculous, that was probably more than a little cruel. He could play along, for a question or two. “Yellowstone? I dunno what the other one is.”

_“Alaska.”_

“Yeah, fuck no. I ain't freezin’ for any mountain, dude.” Gavin dealt with the winters in Detroit miserably, at best. And, yes, he knew it probably wasn't freezing in Alaska all the time, but it was one thing he didn't care to confirm or deny. “Yellowstone it is. Closer, anyways.”

_“You are aware Yellowstone sits on a caldera, yes?”_

No, but now he was.

“Caldera? Shit, why even make it an option then, asshole?” If this was some kind of ploy to try and make him say Alaska wouldn't be so bad after all, it wasn't gonna work. This was exactly why Gavin stayed in Detroit - or at least, partially. It didn’t have the same propensity for volcanic activity. “Gimme a third one. Better than those two.”

_“Then… I would have said the Everglades, were they not underwater.”_

And just as well. Mosquitoes were one species that seemed doomed to survive, so long as there were others to draw blood from. And Florida was _the_ state to find them.

Noah seemed to take the sullen silence as response enough: _“What about… the Sequoia National Park?”_

Giant trees. Figures he would bring them back to Nevada in short order, after watching the movie they had.

“With those massive fuckin’ trees?” Taking a moment to think about it, Gavin tilted his head in thought. Of course Noah would like that - he could perch in one of them, all he wanted. “...Yeah, that might be cool. I'll go with that one.”

Looking back at the screen, he thought he saw half a smile crease the android’s face before his focus abruptly shifted, somewhere to the right and down toward the street below. Exactly a bird who had just spotted something of note, his eyes went distant and fixed. The LED became a point of yellow above his eyebrow.

Crap. Back to the job already, were they?

“N?”

Paying no mind to the nickname, the screen abruptly went black. Then it proclaimed a stark CALL ENDED.

Fucker.

What was so important all of a sudden?

——-

Noah didn’t care for others making interruptions than he did inflicting them himself. But in this case, it was unavoidable. What was unfolding below demanded his full attention. Without a binocular vision mode and the ability to access the nearest hovering security drone, there wouldn’t have been a chance he noticed.

But superior android powers of observation being what they were, he did. Within seconds, he had the suspect’s mugshot and criminal background called up. At present, they were wearing a favored combination of a navy blue hoodie, black Detroit Gears cap, and sky-blue high tops.

Seeing it light up his cruiser’s scanner, Gavin would forgive him for getting involved as soon as the first drone sent out the warbling ping: robbery in progress.

By the time the would-be thief had made it half a block, ducking into an alleyway to lose the trail of whatever foot patrol might have seen them, Noah had an intercept course planned out.

Tailing after him like a whirring, oversized gnat, the drone never lost sight if them. In turn, Noah didn’t lose track of either.

It was almost too easy.

Then the gun came out.

——-

Fucking asshole - Noah couldn't even manage a quick ‘something's happening’? Let him know that, oh yeah, forget the witness, we got other shit to do?

At least Gavin could curse him out sooner rather than later, as he rolled up to the new scene, getting out and running after the android and whoever the fuck else in a matter of seconds, probably a record number for him.

“Fucking jerk,” he wheezed out, not even bothering to look at them in the alleyway just yet, instead taking the moment to get a gulp of air. “You just had to - ”

Once he stopped and looked, Gavin cut himself off.

Goddammit, why did it always end up this way, one of them hurt? Or, maybe a better question was, did they both have a mutual death wish? Some unconscious pact that said they had to have the most dangerous jobs together?

It didn’t matter if Noah couldn’t feel the hurt. Did the prospect of bleeding just not bother him, period?

Well… he had lived through being stuck on a piece of rebar and flooding his chest cavity with his own blood. That would desensitize anyone for a while.

“So, you got fuckin’ shot?” Gavin eventually picked up his train of thought again, crossing his arms to glare at Noah, and the perp with him. Could they not go one day without copping some sort of hurt? “And that ain't botherin’ you at all, huh?”

“Better me than you, Detective.” Fully aware of just how he privately loathed hearing such selfless remarks, Noah kept the cursing suspect up against the wall, one hand gripping both of the man’s wrists. The bleeding arm was pressed laterally across their hooded shoulders. “We’ve been over this.”

The pilfered purse sat at their feet. The recently-fired nine millimeter lay beside it.

Five minutes, not even, from being notified of the crime to having suspect in hand.

And all it cost was some gasoline and a hollow-point slug in the android’s arm.

Just another day in the life.

“Asshole. Goddamn, anyone who thinks you don't measure up to Vernon or Emilia should come on duty with us for a day.” Gesturing to the glowering suspect, Gavin rolled his eyes again. There was no point arguing with Noah about just who was the better one for getting shot, even if it was some sorta bullshit. “Then they can see just how much a fuckin’ foolhardy cop you are.”

Not that he could exactly fault the prototype for taking after him in that sense. But he knew from experience just what boldness sometimes led to - more trouble than you alone could handle. Noah was on the outs with his model siblings as it was. He didn’t need to get the idea in his head that meant he had to take more risks to somehow prove himself their equal.

Just the opposite - he should be more careful for it.

Noah waited to reply until the purse snatcher had been handed off to a passing patrol, to be booked at the nearest station. Watching the squad car roll off and merge with the traffic, he paused to look at the thirium caking over his hand - superficial damages taken in the line of duty the patrolmen hadn’t even asked about. The blood would coagulate on its own soon enough. The bullet would be removed by the end of the day, as it hadn’t struck anything vital.

Typical.

But what if worse had happened?

“Foolhardy, as in…”

“You need the definition? Fuckin’ recklessly bold or some shit. You don't need to do that, Noah.” Even as he griped at him, Gavin couldn't help venting a little worried sigh at seeing the damage the android had incurred. “It ain't gonna get you anywhere good, eventually.”

Managing to look the tiniest bit chastised, Noah glanced aside, then back at him. “I’m sorry, Detective. It won’t happen again.”

Sure.

Except when next it would, inevitably. Guy was a kid playing at looking like he had his world together. One lesson wasn’t gonna be enough for the whole message to sink in.

“Sure it won't. At least fuckin’ tell me next time you run off to go play badass.”

At that Noah managed something like a wry smirk, apologetic moment over. “Why, so you can join in?”

Gavin gave a scoff, before giving into some instinct that took over him as he stepped closer, wrapping one arm around Noah's neck and pulling him a bit closer, almost roughly. Sorry, but he wasn't exactly the most experienced when it came to hugs, or whatever passed for one.

Either way, he got the feeling his partner didn’t mind, so long as he got one.

“Fuck yeah, dude.”


End file.
